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Spin Doctor (Series 2)
Spin Doctor was a competitor in Series 2 of Robot Wars. Spin Doctor's main claim to fame was in its Trial, where it managed to break off and destroy one of Matilda's titanium tusks through use of its spinning attack. After Series 2, the team built a second robot, Agent Orange, which fought in Series 3 and failed to qualify for Series 4 and 5, before the team retired. Design Spin Doctor was a multi-sided wedge robot. At 66.6kg, Spin Doctor was one of the lightest heavyweights in Robot Wars and took 4 months to build. The polyproplene shell had a stainless steel plate at the front, and the snowplough shape gave it an effective push. The robot was armed with a 20' chainsaw, but this was not seen in action. It could, however, spin quickly on the spot to attack, using small maces to inflict considerable damage. This was how it gained its name. Spin Doctor was the first thwackbot seen in the UK. The front of the robot had a silver panel instead of white. The Team Spin Doctor was entered by a team from Huddersfield. The Team Captain was Peter Duncanson, who designed the robot, acquired the parts and did the welding. Also on the team was Martin Griffin, the team's electrician, and Peter's cousin PhillipSpin Doctor website - Meet the Team (Archived). Qualification Spin Doctor appeared for the Series 2 rehearsals without any armour. Despite being completely exposed and having only just fitted the motor in time for the rehearsalsDangerous Machines website - Series 2 auditions photos (archived) it still qualified for the main series. Robot History Series 2 Spin Doctor was the last to run in the Gauntlet stage and looked like it had opted for the right hand route, but then turned around and took on the ramrig, where it got stuck and was pinned by Sir Killalot until its time ran out, having only covered 3.8m. Spin Doctor looked certain to go out, but fortune smiled on the team as Pain failed to start and retired from the competition, allowing Spin Doctor to pass through to the Trial, King of the Castle. Spin Doctor's spinning technique was novel to the House Robots, and Shunt, whilst avoiding the spinner, drove off the edge. Matilda finally charged, glancing off the spinner. This happened twice more, and Matilda's left tusk was sheared in half. Matilda battered Spin Doctor feebly, but time ran out and Spin Doctor had convincingly held on to qualify for the arena stage. Spin Doctor went up against Technophobic, where the robot spun around, causing some damage to Technophobic, but Spin Doctor broke down. However Technophobic had also caught on fire, causing it to be immobilised as well. The resulting judges' Decision chose Technophobic to go through and face Killertron. Results |} Wins/Losses *Wins: 0 *Losses: 1 NOTE: Spin Doctor's successful Gauntlet and Trial runs are not included Series Record spinV1design.jpg|The original design for Spin Doctor spinV2design.jpg|The team's second design for Spin Doctor spinV3design.jpg|The third design for Spin Doctor Spin1.jpg|Spin Doctor from above Spin2.jpg|The chassis of Spin Doctor Trivia *Spin Doctor was originally supposed to have a rounded design, but availability of materials dictated a much more angular, octagonal shaped robot. *The original concept for Spin Doctor was a full body spinner like american robot Blendo, the second concept had a large spinning disc around the outside, also armed with a chainsawSpin Doctor website - Design (Archived). *Spin Doctor was sponsored by the University of Huddersfield, which all the team members attended, and the weaponry was provided by Huddersfield Mowers, Saw and Tool Co., who also helped with the construction of the robot and supplied some partsSpin Doctor website - Sponsors (Archived). *Spin Doctor was the largest competitor in the Second Wars, and suffered with getting stuck because of this. *During the filming of Series 2, Martin Griffin put his foot on Spin Doctor and asked for full power, to see how powerful the robot was. Unfortunately, the speed controller burned out, but two other teams stepped in and donated replacements, saving Spin Doctor from having to withdraw. *Spin Doctor was erroneously referred to as a finalist by Jonathan Pearce whilst introducing successor Agent Orange, despite not even reaching its Heat Final. References External Links *Spin Doctor website (archived) Category:UK Series competitors Category:Robots from West Yorkshire Category:Sit-and-Spin Robots Category:Robots with Chainsaws Category:Robots that only progressed in the Gauntlet or Trials Category:Robots to damage Matilda Category:Robots which debuted in Series 2 Category:Robots which lost their only battle Category:Robots which only fought in Series 2